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STEREO: MFS 482

ANESTOS "GYFTOS" ATHANASIOU

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• ~.!~M~~8~1~NACHEM DWORMAN •

Greek Sing Along Text Enclosed

HEVRON LEVI • JERRY SAPPIR • TASS OS TSAKALAKIS (80uzoukee/Vocal) (Accordion) (Guitar) (Dumbeg/Vocal) (Guitar /Vocal) (Drums)

THEf££NJON GOES GR££I<

by ERWIN FRANKEL

WABC/ FM RADIO, NEW YORK

"Rh.ythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul."-PLATo

With a wry wink at history, one wonders if the great Greek oracles foresaw that the placid pastorals known to Homer would lead to an explosive music resounding from Athens' Plaka to London's Piccadilly Circus to Tokyo's Ginza . .. and to New York's Greenwich Village. Here the classical Kalamatiano, ancient Syrto and old-style Zeibe­hiko are infused with a new excitement born of the cross­pollenization of Hellenic, Mediterranean and Levantine strains. This is the new music of America's favorite Near East ensemble; this is the sound of the Feenjon.

Since 1960 the Feenjon Cafe, co-owned by Menachem Dworman and Robert Engelhardt, and located on New York's MacDougal Street, has been a Mecca for Americans seeking Greek-Israeli-Armenian-Turkish-Arabic song and dance. The unique Feenjon Sound-at tim!,!s sensuous, often lilting, always passionate-seduces the listener into hand-clapping, shoulder-weaving, foot-hopping participa­tion. While preserving the tonality, scale and sequence of Anatolian music, the Feenjon interpretation accentuates " the beat" in a driving, free-wheeling manner.

The Feenjon Goes Greek with four of the Feenjon regulars-joined by two special guest artists, who often sit in with the group during late late sets at the Cafe.

MENACHEM DWORMAN is the founder of the Cafe and leader of the group. His self-taught guitar and oud (the fretless Arabic predecessor of lute and guitar used through­out the Near East) are the spark that give the Feenjon performances their warmth and excitement. Manny's ex­posure to Greek music came when, as a Columbia Univer­sity undergraduate, his roommate, Bill Bouris (to whom Manny dedicates this LP), took him to "Greek Town." There, in the bouzoukee and belly-dance cabarets along 8th Avenue, he first heard syncopated Greek and Turkish rhythms. "It got to me," says Manny. "The more I became involved with it the more I wanted to give it an emphatic beat; to make it swing!" The fulfillment of that desire is a refreshingly alive creation, heard at the Cafe, in Carnegie and Town Hall concerts, at the Central Park Music Festi­vai , and on recordings.

HEVRON LEVI-born in Israel of Yemenite parentage -developed his dumbeg (cylindrical Arabic hand drum) talents not in his Near Eastern homeland, but at the Feen­jon itself. This paradox resulted from Hevron's enthusiastic table-pounding and spoon-clacking as a nightly customer­which eventually led to an "on-stage" association. Hevron's powerful vocal interpretations reflect his Levantine heri­tage. Bending notes towards their quarter-tone neighbor ... feeling a song through notes rather than words . . . his virile voice evokes the mysticism and passion suggested by Anatolian melody.

JIMMY LINARDOS is a Hellenic musical virtuoso who personifies the claim of his homeland (the Greek island of Corfu) as "the musical island." A graduate of conserva­tories in Corfu and Athens, Jimmy has exchanged the timeless instruments of the Hellenic islands-santouri,

laouto, lyra- for trombone, trumpet, piano . . and the glowing accordion presented in this LP. His magnificent solo work is matched by an unparalleled ability to "frame" the total output of his fellow performers.

JERRY SAPPIR comes to the rhythms of the East by way of Flatbush, USA. The Brooklyn-born singer-guitar­ist's career began as half of "the Tradewinds," an American folk-song duo. In the early 60's he met the Greek-American vocalist Fleury D'Antonakis who asked him to become her accompanist . . . reorienting his career towards the world of Eastern song. Jerry's own Greek vocals have a cantorial­like "chant"-bonding the songs of a land he has never seen to his own Russian-Jewish background.

ANESTOS "GYFTOS" ATHANASIOU is America's foremost interpreter of the bouzoukee-that long-handled, gourd-shaped, hand-made Anatolian stringed instrument which gives today's Greek sound its stirring musical back­drop. From the waters of the Saronic Gulf to the shores of the Hudson ... in a Piraeus taverna or the "Port Said" and "Ali Baba" clubs of Manhattan ... Anestos is known affectionately as Gyftos-Gypsy. His sometimes gentle, sometimes fierce bouzoukee--dressed in the spirited new vitality of modern Greece-evokes the ancient legacies of Byzantine tradition. Thus Anestos-sitting in with the Feenjon group-bridges that very old, very new world that is the music of Greece.

TASSOS TSAKALAKIS, featured at New York's "Gre­cian Cave," is one of a handful of modern Greek drum­mers . As a guest artist with the Feenjonites he adds another dimension to the musical excitement with his playing of the snare drums, which are being used more and more in Greek bands in Athens as well as "overseas."

One final word: taxim. Not unlike the improvisations in American jazz, taxims are compositions created in per­formance. They have been called "the solo of the lonely . .. and the voice of passion." Once Alexander went forth from Macedon-carrying Greek drama, architecture, phi­losophy across the known world. Twenty centuries later, Hadjidakis, Theodorakis and others went forth from the sound-stages of Athens-carrying a new sound across our known world. One response to this latter invasion is The Feenjon Goes Greek ... a dazzling experience, whose rhythm and harmony will surely find their way into the inward places of your soul.

Side One

1. OSO S'AGAPO (As Much As I Love You) 2:48 Hevron exultantly sings "If you love me as much as l love you, what else could I ask?"

2. KAIMOS (Grief) 4:18 Ine megalos 0 yialos; Ine makri to kima. "The coast is large and the wave is large; the grief is large and very bitter. The river within me is very bitter; the blood is from your wound. And what is more bitter than the blood is your kiss on my lips." One of a series of laments by Theodorakis movingly sung by Jerry.

3. FIGEH (Go Away) 3:00 A rousing Athenian "Hit Parade" favorite sung by Hevron: "You want to leave me and make love to someone else; well, go away!" Figeh, figeh , figeh .

4. GYPSY SORROW (Bouzoukee Solo) 3:35 Anestos' own taxim-an unwritten composition expressing a Gypsy's pain. This melancholy "fantasy" draws its un­happy melody from the Asian influence in Greek music. Then, like a man relieved of his tears, Anestos explodes into a spirited "Hasapiko-Serviko"-a tempo taken from

the same Rumanian-Balkan "Oro" dance rhythms that led to the Jewish Hora.

5. POU THA VRO YINEKA (Where Will I Find A Woman Like You?) 2:50

Although popular Greek song has dazzling contemporary rhythms, the lyrics often remain melancholy. It is not un­usual to find a sad story embraced by a gay melody-like Jerry's hand clapping rendition of "If you leave me I will die .. . like a bird in the cold."

6. HASAPIKO (Instrumental) 3:05 With special taxims by Anestos' bouzoukee and Jimmy's accordion, the Feenjon Group presents the most recent­and most popular-of Greek dances: "The Modern Hasa­pico." Its "follow the leader" lilting, undulating line-with intricate and precise steps-is credited to the sailors of Piraeus.

Side Two

1. MINEH (Stay) 3:10 Hevron can't make up his mind. A flip of the LP and his cry changes from Figeh, Figeh to Mineh, Mineh-"Stay, stay ... you are my breath, my joy, my heart."

2. ZORBA (Feenjon Instrumental Version) 3:55 All the richness of Greek music . . . the glorious moods and tempos of its bouzoukee . . . the tang and zest of its dance . . . the passion and spirit of its melody . . . are captured in Theodorakis' epic mm theme of such "inner excitement and stirring rhythms as to match the glorious defiance of Zorba's spirit."

3. MANDOUBALA (A Girl's Name) 3:00 A film-melody from India is given an Athanasiou-Kazadi­dis arrangement with Latin overtones (a sort of "Anatolian Rumba"); Hevron laments: "Mandoubala, I call your name in pain. With tears in my eyes, I walk the streets looking for my lost love."

4. PSAROPOULA (A Small Fishing Boat) 2:22 Anestos' rich vocal contribution is this folk song from the Isle of Hydra, from whose enchanting shore handsome young fisherman depart. "Bring back lots of sponges and pearls," their sweethearts call out as the small fishing boats sail over the horizon.

5. KOUKLA (Accordion Solo) 2:20 A touch of lighthearted humor is added by this Jimmy Linardos original-a smiling, captivating tune presented by its composer with happy abandon and carefree charm. Koukla is Greek for "doll." Jimmy wrote this melody for Roberta-his koukla of a wife.

6. YERAKINA (A Girl's Name) 2:00 An old legend is recalled in Jerry's rendition of a traditional folk ballad. Yerakina went to the well for water ... and fell in! "I will pull you out, Yerakina, but you must prom­ise to be my wife," her boyfriend calIs down. "I promise," comes the answer. And Yerakina's bracelets murmur doum, a-droum, a-droum as a gilded rope hauls her up.

New York's "international disc jockey," Erwin Frankel is the creator-host of W ABC-FM's popular "Music From Around The World" show. His other popular music and talk programs are heard on over 250 stations in more than 50 lands.

Cover Photo: Leonard Heicklen Recorded at MASTERTONE STUDIOS, New York. Sid Feldman, recording engineer. Greek Language Consultant: Artemis Lage

For complete "Music of the World" catalog write: MONITOR RECORDS, 156 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10010 Printed in U.S.A .

;

THE fffNJON GOES GRffl< Produced and Directed by Menachem Dworman

SIDE ONE

1. OSO S'AGAPO

1. Oso s'agapo an m'agapas ti allo thelo Kseris pos yia sena agapi mou ego petheno

Refrain

Mazi mou ehis kani martino ti zoi Yiati me diohnis ke me pligonis Agapi mou hrisi, agapi mou hrisi

II. Oso s'agapo an m'agapas ti a110 thelo Oute ti zoi horis esena then ti thelo.

Refrain Repeat Stanza I

2. KAIMOS

1. Ine megalos 0 yialos Ine makri to kima Ine megalos 0 kaimos Ine pikro to kima

Chorus

Potami mesa mou pikro To ema tis pligis sou Ke apo to ema pio pikro Sto stoma to fili sou Ke apo to ema pio pikro Sto stoma to fiji sou

II. Then kseris ti ine pagonia Vradia horis fengari Na min gnorizis yia stigmi o ponos na se pari

Repeat Chorus

STEREO: MFS 482

e monItor MUS I C OF TH E W O RL D

3. FIGEH

1. Aht Thelis na m' afisis Ke allon n'agapisis Figeh, figeh, figeh

Chorus

Eho sinithisi na me troy i thlipsi Ke an s'agapisa ksegelastika Ke ti mira mou katarastika, katarastika Figeh, figeh, figeh

II. Aht Pare tin kardia sou Ke yia panta yia sou Yia sou, yia sou, yia sou.

Repeat Chorus Twice

5. POU THA VRO YINEKA

I. Thelis tora na mou figes Pouneh agapi ke storyi San ke sen a then iparhi Ke na psakso oli ti yi. San ke sena then iparhi Ke na psakso oli ti yi.

Chorus

Pou tha vro yineka na sou miazi Nahi tosi glika stin kardia An mou figis tha pethano San pouli stin pagonia. An mou figis tha pethano San pouli stin pagonia.

II. Seho toso vasanisi Pou me vlepis san ekthro Poso thelo yia na alakso Thos-mou hrono ke kero

Chorus

SIDE TWO

1. MINEH

I. Thelis na figis makria mou Then se Jcrlltane ta thakria mOU

Esena eho esena mono Ke stin kardia mou eho ton pono

Chorus

Mineh, mineh, mineh konta mou Mineh, agapi mou, mineh hara mou Mineh, mineh, mineh konta mou Mineh, anasa mou, mineh kardia mou.

II. Pes mou ti thelis ke ti prostazis Ke tin kardia mou tin komatiazis Ti thapoyino a:n stamatisis Ke toniro mou tha to gremisis.

3. MANDOUBALA

1. Mandoubala agapi glikia mou Lahtaro narthis pali konta mou Apo tote pou sehasa liono Tonoma sou fonazo me pono Mandoubala, Mandoubala

Chorus

Me matia klamena stous dromous yimo Mia hameni agapi zitao na vro Mia hameni agapi zitao na vro

II. N a se tho ke as pethano kali mou Afto mono zitai i psihi mou Apo tote pou sehasa liono Tonoma sou fonazo me pono Mandoubala, Mandoubala.

Chorus

4. PSAROPOULA

I. Ksekinai mia psaropoula Ap to yialo, ap to yialo Ksekinai mia psaropoula Ap tin Ythra tin mikroula Ke piyeni yia sfougaria 010 yialo, 010 yialo.

II. Ehi mesa palikaria Ap to yiaJo, ap to yialo Ehi mesa paJikaria Pou voutane yia sfougaria Youses ke margaritaria Ap to yialo, ap to yialo.

III. Ehi si mia fouska limnious Ap to yialo, ap to yialo Ehi threous ke poriotes Eginites ke spetsiotes Poune oli palikaria Ap to yialo, ap to yialo.

6. YERAKINA

I. Kinise i Yerakina Yia nero krio na feri Droukou doum a-droum a-droum a-drown Ta vrahiolia tis vrontoun Ta vrahiolia tis vrontoun Droukou doum a-droum a-droum a-drown

II. Ke etrekse me sto pigadi Ke evgale foni megali

Repeat Refrain Three Times

MONITOR RECORDS • 156 Fifth Avenue • New York, N. Y. 10010 Printed in U.S.A.